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Australia English words page 4
Australian English, from arvo to servo: the words Aussies use every day. 745 words and meanings, most familiar first.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cornstalk noun | A non-indigenous native of New South Wales. |
| decider noun | An event or action which decides the outcome of a contested matter. |
| dobber noun | One who dobs (informs against or implicates to authority). |
| donk noun | A car's engine. |
| doorstop noun | An interview with a politician or other public figure (apparently informal or spontaneous but often planned), as they enter or leave a building. |
| dropkick noun | An unintelligent or useless person. |
| flatting noun | The practice of living, with others, in a flat. |
| footpad noun | An unmade, minor walking trail formed only by foot traffic. |
| gazump verb | To raise the selling price of something (especially property) after previously agreeing to a lower one. |
| golliwog noun | A hairy caterpillar. |
| gridiron noun | American and Canadian football, particularly when used to distinguish from other codes of football. |
| growler noun | A kind of jug used to carry beer (in current usage, a 2-liter or 64-ounce container with or without a handle; sometimes extended to similarly shaped 32-ounce jug, but not bottles). |
| gudgeon noun | Any of various similar small fish of the family Eleotridae, often used as bait. |
| guernsey noun | The shirt worn by the players. |
| humpy noun | A hut or temporary shelter made from bark and tree branches, traditionally used by Aboriginal people. |
| hypothecate verb | To designate in advance the specific purpose of expenditure for government revenues (especially taxes). |
| jabiru noun | The black-necked stork, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus. |
| jemmy noun | An immigrant. |
| lugger noun | A conman. |
| milkwood noun | Alstonia scholaris (scholar tree, milky pine), and other species in the genus Alstonia. |
| mugwump noun | A person who stays neutral or non-committal; a fence sitter; also, a person who maintains an aloof and often self-important demeanour. |
| mullock noun | Mining waste or ore processing waste: |
| munt verb | To vomit (usually while drunk). |
| nark noun | An unpleasant person, especially one who makes things difficult for others. |
| nobble verb | To injure or obstruct intentionally. |
| ocker noun | A boorish or uncultivated Australian. |
| pash verb | To snog, to make out, to kiss. |
| piddle noun | Piss: urine. |
| piker noun | One who refuses to go out with friends, or leaves a party early; a spoilsport or "chicken". |
| placer noun | A lamb whose mother has died and which has transferred its attachment to an object, such as a bush or rock, in the locality. |
| plover noun | The masked lapwing, Vanellus miles. |
| poddy adjective | Fed by hand. |
| pommy noun | A pom; a person of British descent, a Briton; an Englishman. |
| postcode noun | A sequence of letters and numbers added to a postal address to aid the sorting and delivery of post or mail. |
| publican noun | The manager or owner of a hotel. |
| razz verb | To drive an vehicle around aimlessly. |
| rego noun | Registration for a motor vehicle. |
| scrag noun | A rough or unkempt woman. |
| serviceability noun | The ability of an individual to make repayments on a loan. |
| shallot noun | A scallion. |
| singlet noun | A sleeveless buttonless shirt with a low-cut neck. |
| skeg noun | A surfer; a person who leads a surfing lifestyle. |
| skite noun | One who skites; a boaster. |
| skivvy noun | A close-fitting, long-sleeved T-shirt with a rolled collar. |
| slushy noun | A kitchen helper. |
| snowberry noun | Schizomeria ovata |
| snowdrop verb | To steal clothing (especially women's underwear) from a clothesline. |
| speel verb | To run. |
| superannuation noun | A retirement benefit fund, an accumulation of regular deductions from one′s wage or salary while employed and similar regular contributions from the employer, usually administered by an independent entity; a pension. |
| swamper noun | A person who travels by foot but has his belongings on a wagon. |
| tablespoon noun | A spoon too large for eating, usually used for cooking or serving. |
| teacake noun | A sweet cake, sometimes sprinkled with cinnamon and caster sugar, often served warm. |
| tonguey noun | An act or an instance of kissing that involves the use of one's tongue. |
| transportable noun | A semi-permanent building, such as a portable classroom in a school, or accommodation for fly-in fly-out workers. |
| trots noun | A trotting race meet; harness racing. |
| trundler noun | Golf pushcart. |
| turps noun | Any alcoholic drink. |
| unco adjective | Uncoordinated. |
| unleaded noun | Low-alcohol beer. |
| waddy noun | A war club used by Aboriginal Australians; a nulla nulla. |
| walloper noun | A policeman, a male police officer. |
| yobbo noun | A yob. |
| kiddo noun | A close friend; especially used as a form of address. |
| manchester noun | Household linen. |
| blimey interjection | Used to express anger, excitement, surprise, etc. |
| frankfurt noun | A frankfurter; a hot dog sausage. |
| righto interjection | Okay; all right. |
| nong noun | An idiot. |
| choco noun | A person with dark skin tone. |
| sav noun | A saveloy. |
| dunder noun | Distillery effluent. |
| gynaecologist noun | (Canadian spelling, also common) A physician who specialises in diseases of the female reproductive system. |
| brumby noun | A wild or feral horse. |
| arvo noun | Afternoon. |
| abo noun | An aborigine; aboriginal. |
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| alco noun | An alcoholic. |
| bardie noun | The edible larva of an insect. |
| barracking noun | The act of cheering for or supporting a team. |
| barracouta noun | The snoek, Thyrsites atun, a foodfish. |
| bathers noun | A swimsuit; a bathing costume. |
| bellbird noun | The bell miner, Manorina melanophrys, a bird that feeds on bell lerps (a variety of psyllid). |
| berley noun | Material (frequently rancid) used as bait to attract fish or other organisms. |
| bikie noun | A motorcyclist who is a member of a club; a biker. |
| billabong noun | An anabranch, backwater or oxbow lake that is temporarily cut off from the main river, especially one that is only filled with water during the rainy season and can sometimes dry up completely. |
| billycan noun | A lightweight pot for cooking or boiling water, used in camping. |
| bint noun | A woman, a girl. |
| blackbirding noun | The practice of kidnapping Pacific Islanders, or kanakas, for sale as cheap labour. |
| blackboy noun | Any plant in the genus Xanthorrhoea, native to Australia. |
| blackfellow noun | A (male) Australian Aborigine. |
| blanky adjective | A mild intensifier, expressing irritation. |
| blowie noun | A blowfly, Lucilia cuprina. |
| bodgie noun | A member of a 1950s rock subculture; a teddy boy. |
| bombora noun | A shallow isolated piece of reef located a distance offshore. |
| bonzer adjective | Remarkable; wonderful; excellent; terrific. |
| boobialla noun | Any of various flowering plants in the genus Myoporum in the figwort family. |
| boodie noun | A species of bettong, Bettongia lesueur. |
| boong noun | An Australian Aboriginal person. |
| breakwind noun | A windbreak. |
| brickfielder noun | A hot, dry, dusty wind of southern or central Australia. |
| brinny noun | A stone thrown as a missile. |
| broadacre adjective | Of or pertaining to, or suitable for large-scale farming. |
| buckjump verb | Of a horse, to jump upwards with arched back and head down in an attempt to throw its rider. |
| bulldust noun | Fine red dust, found in desert regions of Australia. |
| bullocky noun | A person (usually a man) who drives a cart pulled by a team of bullocks. |
| bunger noun | A cigarette. |
| bunyip noun | A mythical Australian monster, said to inhabit swamps and lagoons. |
| bushfire noun | An uncontrolled fire in a wooded or grassy area; a wildfire. |
| bushwalking noun | The activity of hiking or backpacking. |
| bushwoman noun | A woman who lives or has lived in the Australian outback. |
| busker noun | A person who makes money by passing the hat (soliciting donations) while entertaining the public (often by playing a musical instrument) on the streets or in other public area such as a park or market. |
| cadetship noun | A kind of training programme that combines on-the-job experience with formal training; an apprenticeship |
| calaboose noun | A prison or jail/gaol. |
| candidature noun | The condition of becoming a candidate; candidateship. |
| carn interjection | Come on. |
| chasings noun | A children's chasing game with multiple players in which one person runs after other players attempting to catch or touch them; a player caught then becomes the new chaser. |
| chiack verb | To taunt or tease. |
| chookie noun | A small or young domestic fowl; a chick. |
| chroming noun | The act of inhaling the fumes of substances such as glue or paint, usually by sniffing them from a paper bag or bottle, with the aim of getting intoxicated. |
| chunder noun | Vomit. |
| clacker noun | The anus. |
| clearway noun | A road or other path that is kept free of obstructions, or on which stopping is strictly regulated, in order to maintain free flow of movement. |
| cobbra noun | Head, skull |
| cooee noun | A long, loud call used to attract attention when at a distance, mainly done in the Australian bush. |
| cootie noun | Any germ or contaminant, real or imagined, especially from the opposite gender (for pre-pubescent children). |
| cossie noun | A swimming costume. |
| crim noun | A criminal. |
| cunjevoi noun | A coastal sea squirt, Pyura stolonifera, found in some parts of Australia and South Africa. |
| curlew noun | A stone curlew. |
| daks noun | Trousers or underwear. |
| darb noun | A cigarette. |
| demountable noun | A temporary and portable building, especially a portable classroom in a school. |
| dero noun | A homeless person, a tramp; a social derelict, especially an alcoholic. |
| desto noun | A headsign; a destination sign: a moveable or electronic display mounted on a bus or other public transport vehicle to indicate its intended route and destination. |
| dinkum adjective | Genuine, true, honest, on the level. |
| dogger noun | A wild dog trapper employed in the pastoral industry. |
| dogman noun | An assistant to a crane operator, responsible for securing the crane's load and directing the operator. |
| donga noun | A transportable building with single rooms, often used on remote work sites or as tourist accommodation. |
| drey noun | A possum’s nest, built of twigs and leaves in a tree. |
| driveaway noun | Sale price including all dealer fees, and all legally required fees such as registration and insurance. |
| drongo noun | A fool, an idiot, a stupid fellow. |
| droob noun | An ineffectual or unattractive person; a dag. |
| dunger noun | An old, worn-out machine, especially a car. |
| durry noun | A cigarette, especially a roll-your-own. |
| dux noun | The top (male or female) academic student in a school, or in a year of school; the top student in a specified academic discipline. |
| enrol verb | Standard spelling of enroll. |
| faff noun | An overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time. |
| festy adjective | Disgusting. |
| flagfall noun | A fixed fare charged at the beginning of a taxi ride |
| fossick verb | To search for something; to rummage. |
| franger noun | A condom. |
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources